Hello, Everyone!
Last time, our heroes were on their way to meet Dynatos Perres, when something unexpected happened. In an attempt to help their--well, 'friend' is a strong word, maybe 'aquaintance'? or 'person that Mary felt indebted to'?--Nymphadora Flay, they happened upon their old enemy, the Black dragon Nurvureem. Disguised in her human form, the Dark Lady took hold over Nymphadora and cut off any attempts at talking her out of it.
Desperate that they were going to be the reason for yet another of Nymphadora's misfortunes, Mary asked Granny Gretel to make it so that Mary and Nurvureem's victim switched places. The hag did it gladly and Mary spent a few very intense minutes having the full 'Nurvureem experience'.
Then, her consciousness was summoned back. She was surrounded by her worried friends. She protested, but Bruno cut her off. He was furious. He yelled at Mary and Aurum for acting on their own without telling the others what they were going to do, and said that now they were going to device a plan--and stick to it, for Ord's sake!
Mary listened to her friends' plan without uttering a word. After what had just happened, she knew that her head wasn't clear enough to think for herself.
She felt like being blown around in a storm, unable to step on solid ground. Bruno was her anchor in the wind now, stable and reliable, holding her in place. So, she listened and remembered her role, and promised to play it strictly, without any creative interpretations.
She coordinated everything with Agatha who was still inside, and, finally, sent a Message to Nymphadora.
"We're going to try and save you," it said. "When you see fire, jump as far from Nurvureem and Kalien as you can."
And then, it was time for the action.
Bruno positioned himself about a hundred or so feet away, looking through the front window of the tavern. He stood tall and decisive, his arms outstretched. He spoke a word and sprinkled some dust in a wide gesture in the air.
A huge Wall of Fire burst on the inside of the tavern and lit the place up.
Through the window, Mary saw Nurvureem startle and back away from the flame, leaving Nymphadora briefly unsupervised.
That was the moment Aurum's Dimension Door opened up behind the girl. He appeared next to her, grabbed her by the waist and cast another portal. They both stepped back and sank into the vortex.
Nurvureem… screamed?
...Roared?...
Mary knew this sound. It used to echo in her nightmares. It started out as human, picked up volume and ferocity, and then morphed into monstrosity.
Suddenly, the dragon's real form burst out of the tavern, crumbling the whole building under her massive claws. She was feral now. Her movements were erratic, her eyes filled with fury and madness. She thrashed around and destroyed a few more of the nearby houses. Her sword--in its actual size now--flared up. She swung it wildly and cut down a few bystanders who’d come in her way.
After bringing all that destruction, the Dark Lady spread her wings and took off into the night sky.
The city bells rang. People screamed and wailed. The fire of the burning tavern blared and debris scattered all over the street. Mary ran, tears in her eyes, breath short and laboured, going from one body to another, hoping to find someone she could help.
But it was in vain. Nurvureem’s fury had killed so many!
“Mary!” she heard Bruno’s muffled voice. “Over here!”
She saw the dwarf’s arm waving from the inside of a ruined house. She rushed to him, fearing that he might be trapped. But it turned out he was helping people.
He handed her a small crying girl and she took her out of the creaking building. But there was someone else inside. An elderly man, half-covered in debris. His legs were entirely under the house’s heavy beams and Bruno was shuffling around him, looking for a way to take him out without having the whole thing collapse on top of them both.
Mary wasn’t strong enough, and she didn’t have her friend’s mining expertise. The only thing she had were her spells. She reached out through the opening and touched his shoulder, attempting to magically align his fate for the better.
Bruno’s breathing slowed down. His eyes followed a crack between the beams and he applied pressure at a particular point. He propped the fallen debris up and lifted them, just enough for Mary to be able to pull the old man out.
Bruno managed to crawl out as well and kneeled next to the person, healing him with his holy magic.
The Pamagos Guard had flooded the street now, engaging with the rest of the survivors, covering the dead bodies and taking care to secure the remains of the nearby buildings. Mary sat on the ground, hands hugging her stomach, watching all the destruction the dragon had caused.
It was all their fault.
Oh, no! This didn't turn out as we hoped! So many lives lost, and all because our heroes took yet another of Nurvureem's victims out from under her nose! I have the feeling that she's going to remember this... We'll surely see her again.
But maybe not right away? Let's see in our next episode! (But before that, here's an art post, if you're interested.)
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossary and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum, Bruno and Agatha) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.